The Effects of Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs at School on Children's Prosocial Behavior and Antisocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of School Satisfaction.

Lili Tian,Xiao Zhang,E. Scott Huebner

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00548

Lili Tian, Xiao Zhang + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00548

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Abstract

Grounded in Basic Psychological Need Theory, we examined the direct effects of the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs at school (i.e., satisfaction of autonomy needs at school, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, and satisfaction of competence needs at school) on prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior as well as the mediation effects of school satisfaction on the relations between the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs at school and prosocial behavior as well as antisocial behavior. We employed a sample of 801 Chinese children (429 males; Mage = 9.47) in a three-wave longitudinal study, with each wave occurring 6 months apart. Direct and indirect effects were estimated by Structural Equation Modeling. Results indicated that: (1) Satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and competence needs at school, but not satisfaction of autonomy needs at school, displayed direct effects on prosocial behavior. Also, satisfaction of relatedness needs at school, but not satisfaction of autonomy needs at school or competence needs at school, displayed direct effects on antisocial behavior. (2) Both satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and competence needs at school displayed indirect effects on prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior via school satisfaction as a mediator. However, satisfaction of autonomy needs at school failed to have indirect effects on prosocial behavior or antisocial behavior via school satisfaction. These findings suggest differential predictors of children’s prosocial and antisocial behavior, supporting the separability of the two constructs. The findings also suggest developmental differences in need satisfaction, with the satisfaction of autonomy needs playing a relatively less important role in school-age children. We also discussed limitations and practical applications of the study.

Highlights

Children’s social behavior has been a topic of great interest to researchers and educators, including prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior (Crowley and Merrell, 2003; Raimundo et al, 2012)
The bootstrapping tests (Preacher and Hayes, 2008) confirmed that the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) around the mediation effect of Time 2 (T2) school satisfaction in relation to Time 1 (T1) satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and competence needs at school did not contain zero, but the mediation effect of T2 school satisfaction in relation to T1 satisfaction of autonomy needs at school contained zero. These findings indicated that the mediation effect of T2 school satisfaction in relation to T1 satisfaction of relatedness needs at school and competence needs at school was significant, whereas the mediation effect of T2 school satisfaction in relation to T1 satisfaction of autonomy needs at school was not significant
Using a three-wave longitudinal design, we investigated the differential direct and indirect predictive effects of the three basic psychological needs satisfaction at school and school satisfaction on prosocial and antisocial behavior among elementary school children

Summary

Introduction

Children’s social behavior has been a topic of great interest to researchers and educators, including prosocial behavior and antisocial behavior (Crowley and Merrell, 2003; Raimundo et al, 2012). Prosocial behavior as a representative of positive social behavior is critical for children’s social adjustment and physical and mental health (Dong and Lin, 2011). Children’s differences in SBPNS, Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviors prosocial behavior partly arise from early interaction experiences and childhood environments (Penner et al, 2005). Some children show increased antisocial behavior after entry into elementary school. Antisocial behavior hinders appropriate socialization of children, leading to difficulties in controlling their behavior, making friends, and succeeding in school (Odgers et al, 2012; Pears et al, 2016). If antisocial behavior continues across childhood, it yields costly physical health, mental health, social, and economic difficulties (Moffitt et al, 2002; Cohen and Piquero, 2009)

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